Uber acquires Car Next Door
We've today announced that Uber has acquired Car Next Door.
Combining our car-sharing community with Uber’s mobility platform provides a complete alternative to car ownership.
We know that Australians are over-reliant on private vehicles. Australia has one of the highest rates of private car ownership per capita in the world, and half of all households have more than one car. In recent years Australians have been driving their cars less and less - but they still own them, just in case they need to drive occasionally. It’s a huge waste of resources, money and space.
We built Car Next Door to free people and the planet from the ‘one person, one car’ mentality'. Uber is reimagining the way the world moves, for the better. Combining our services will get us both there much faster.
We see this as the tipping point towards a future where owning a car is truly optional. Mobility will be on demand, not in your garage.
Dom Taylor, General Manager of Uber Australia and New Zealand, said, “This year marks 10 years since both Uber and Car Next Door launched in Australia. A lot has changed in that time but one thing has stayed constant: a shared vision that we need to make transport not just safe, convenient, and affordable – but also sustainable.
“Over the last decade, Uber has created shared rides options like Uber Pool, invested $800 million globally to drive electric vehicle uptake, and integrated micromobility, and public transport options into the Uber app. What our app users haven’t had though, is the option for those mid-range and longer-distance trips. This deal will change that, and mean that the Uber platform can be a reliable and convenient alternative to the choice to own a car.”
Will Davies, CEO and Co-Founder of Uber Carshare said, “This is an exciting opportunity for Car Next Door to achieve our mission of ‘freeing people and the planet from the one person one car mentality’ years before we otherwise could have. By working with Uber we can scale up our ambitions and look to move Australians away from the over-reliance on the private car which is damaging our planet and making our cities less liveable.
“We know that many of our members are already combining carshare and rideshare with shared bikes and scooters, walking and public transport for a mobility mix that suits their lifestyle. We’re hearing from more and more people that they no longer feel the need to own a car, because getting transport on demand saves them money and hassle. In the 10 years since Uber and we launched in Australia, attitudes to car ownership have really started to shift. We see this deal as a big step towards making car-free or car-light living accessible to more people in more places and freeing up space for people, not parking.”
Pictured: Dom Taylor, General Manager, Uber Australia & New Zealand; Dave Trumbull, CTO & Co-founder, Car Next Door; Will Davies, CEO & Co-founder, Car Next Door.
